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Simplifying FitnessThu, 22 Aug 2013 00:43:54 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.13Flowing with John Wolf’s Evolution Kettlebell Groundworkhttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2387
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2387#respondThu, 22 Aug 2013 00:43:54 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2387After completing the RKC in February 2013 my superhumanitarian friend Sarah Jamieson mentioned to me that taking John Wolf’s Evolution Kettlebell Groundwork workshop would really complement my kettlebell training. Apparently Sarah told everyone about her experience training with John and his EKG system that she decided it would be great to host him here in Vancouver for a weekend. Of course I signed up and the experience was fantastic.

Great Coaching and an Excellent System

John’s coaching style was superb, he would show the skill, let you experience it, give you a drill to practice, and then allow you to reintegrate it back into the skill. This made learning to do just some of the amazing things John is capable of doing seem possible. Take a look at what John gets up to with his body and a kettlebell(s). He is beauty in motion!

John made it perfectly clear that the EKG system is not to replace your favourite training method: hardstyle kettlebelling, Olympic lifting, power lifting, or crossfitting. The EKG system is to fill in any gaps that may be missing from your training experience. There are specific movements to be learned with regressions, progressions and drills to ensure any individual finds an appropriate challenge and level of success.

It is similar to the RKC system with one difference. When you complete the RKC there is a clear next level with performance goals that must be met to pass. However, when you complete the EKG workshop there are no performance goals, you are given tools and skills to explore your own movement abilities and create your own “flow” experiences. This is why the EKG system is a perfect complement to the RKC and any other form of strength training.

Fun with Friends

I had a ton of fun during the workshop, it felt more like play then work. I guess that is what happens when you get a group of people together who love kettlebells and movement and give them an opportunity to learn something new. The gym we were playing in, Engineered Bodies, was filled with old and new friends, great quotes painted on the walls, a beautiful graffiti mural, and of course all the toys: kettlebells, clubbells, and monkey bars!

#SFACrew Member, Adrienne, working on her Shinbox extensions with presses!

Almost every time you looked over your shoulder you would catch someone focused and working on a static posture or a transition. Everyone was working to improve, it felt like being at lacrosse practice. Maybe it had something to do with this quote on the wall “champions are made when no one is watching” or maybe because our head coach made it so that everyone was successful.

Kettlebells and Getups

I love lifting kettlebells and I love doing and coaching getups. The EKG course opened up a whole new world for both of these things. It all starts with the shin box and progresses to standing and then reverse it all until you are laying back on the ground. Mix in some dragon squats, quad presses, and mtn climber sprawls with cossack squats, leg threads, and rock-its for unlimited potential to create your own versions of a getup. Then grab a hold of a kettlebell and you will never get bored with your training.

I am still practicing and playing with my EKG flow, best part is I don’t know what I am about to do until I am doing it!

The precourse prep work upped my training and coaching another notch. Finishing the 2 day course bumped it up a further 2 notches. If you are into expressing yourself through movement and playing with Kettlebells this course is a must.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=2387030 for 30: Josh Neumann’s 30th Bday thoughts, ideas and ramblingshttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2385
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2385#respondTue, 13 Aug 2013 21:09:54 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2385I turned 30 this week, and it has been a seriously awesome time! Robyn treated me like a King, my family came to visit, the #SFACrew members performances were off the charts, and I got to play with my friends and Max. I also apparently crossed the threshold from young man to old man and joined some exclusive 30+ club. So in honour of my 30trips around the sun I’ve put together a list of 30 random thoughts, awesome ideas and things I believe to be right.

1. When my dog, Max, and I go to the park or beach he gets ridiculously amped. Two blocks away he starts walking a little faster, stronger and with determination. By the time we get to the entrance he can barely contain himself. He sits at perfect attention as I take his leash off and then GONE! If I can be half as amped about anything as Max is about the park and beach I know I will be okay.
2. I need water. I want Cucumber margaritas and beer. I need leafy green vegetables. I want cookies. I need natural peanut butter. I want peanut butter cups. I need 7 hours of sleep. I want to think I can go with less. I need to improve daily. I want to lay on the couch and watch seinfeld reruns. I need wild salmon. I want wild salmon. Sometimes your needs and wants are the same, the trick is knowing how to recognize them.
3. I love kettlebells, I think everyone should own one. They last a lifetime, take up minimal space, and are very versatile.
4. And if I could pick two kettlebell exercises everyone should know they would be the turkish getup and the swing.
5. Weight loss is not the same as fat loss. You can get the numbers on the scale to go down by going to the bathroom, number 1 or 2!
6. Walking is one of the most underrated forms of physical activity.
7. You don’t need to lift weights to strength train. It can really help to teach you how to be strong, but many gymnast and martial artists never touch weights and they are some of the strongest people on the planet. Strength is the ability to exert force on an object. Any object.
8. Newton’s 3rd law of motion states that when one body exert a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body. A human’s ability to create force comes from within; you decide how much force you put into an object. Get stronger by learning to create TENSION within your own body. Put STRENGTHFIRST!
9. There are 5 basic positions to perform movements from: floor (back, front, side), seated (on the ground – variety of static positions), quadruped (all 4 limbs touching the floor), kneeling (both knees or one), standing (parallel stance, split stance, one foot stance). These are the stages of motor development human babies go through.
10. Getting up and down from the floor allows individuals to practice transitioning through these 5 basic positions. The Turkish getup and pushup squat getup are two great exercises that can be used to improve movement and strength skills. NOTE: Learning a number of getup variations is critical for learning to safely fall, think about how much you got up and down off the ground as a child and how many times you fell without serious injury.
11. Sometimes when I see a person walking and texting at the same time I intentionally change my path to walk directly in the line of the oncoming texter. We could all spend less time attached to our mobile devices and more time paying attention to our surroundings. If you see me walking and texting please walk into me, maybe we can have friendly conversation!
12. Bacon. Nuff said.
13. About 10 years ago I read some excellent food advice from Mark Verstegen: “Eat a rainbow everyday” meaning eat a variety of colourful vegetables and fruits everyday and when choosing protein remember “the less legs the better.”
14. Alwyn Cosgrove talks about the pendulum swinging too far in one direction and then overtime it slowly swings back to the middle. There have been 3 trends in the fitness industry lately that are starting to swing back to the middle: corrective exercise, barefoot running, and paleo/gluten free diets.
15. But seriously your feet are important, they are your connection to the earth below you, are home to 25% of the bones in your body, and incredibly sensitive to touch. Spend more time barefoot.
16. I’ve heard that “Sitting is the new smoking.” Humans in the Western world are spending more time sitting than in the past, which means they are spending more time being inactive which is leading to all sorts of health problems. Office chairs, couches and car seats being the biggest culprits. Spend less of your day sitting in these spots and you will notice changes in your health.
17. When did fitness get put before motor learning?
18. Skill development is best achieved with a continuous cycle of practice and play. Practice is rehearsing a behaviour over and over with the intention of mastering it or improving it. Play is dynamic and chaotic and provides opportunity for creativity. By practicing you will improve your play experiences and by playing you will provide new content for practicing… the cycle goes on and on!
19. 10 sets of 3 vs 3 sets of 10. They both total 30reps, but the quality of the reps is likely to be much different. It is most likely that when performing 10 sets of 3 you will get 30 reps that are nearly identical, and in 3 sets of 10 you will likely get 10 excellent reps, 10 mediocre reps and 10 poor reps. When it comes to motor learning this is the rep scheme that will allow you to learn a movement the best.
20. Movement is task oriented. If I were to ask 10 random people to pick up a kettlebell off the ground and place it over their head I am sure I would see a number of different methods, each one depending on the individual’s abilities and experiences. When coaching movement it is best to assign goldilocks tasks, not too hard, not too easy, just right. Here are 10 different ways to move a kettlebell from the ground to overhead: Turkish Getup, cheat clean to press, cheat clean to push press, clean and press, clean and push press, clean to bent press, clean to jerk press, snatch, EKG Turkish Getup, and slap catch to two handed press.
21. Author of the best selling book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines flow with the following characteristics: a task we have a chance of completing, must be able to concentrate on what we are doing, task has clear goals, task provides immediate feedback, act with deep but effortless involvement that removes the awareness of worries and frustrations of everyday life, a sense of control over your actions, concern for the self disappears but the self becomes stronger once the task is complete, and sense of time is distorted. Dr. Stuart Brown defines Play as: apparently purposless, voluntary, inherent attraction, freedom from time, diminished consciousness of self, improvisational opportunities, and continuation desire. These two world renowned psychologist have given two strikingly similar definitions to two different terms. Find an activity that gets you in a flow state and then go play with it… they are pretty much the same thing.
22. My friend Ben Newman calls these 5 actions the Pilars of Health: Breathing, Eating, Drinking, Moving, and Sleeping. These could also be called our primal needs. Add in love, relationships and shelter to complete the list of the basic survival needs of human beings.
23. Are you belly breathing? Put your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your belly button and take 5 breathes. Which hand moves first when you breathe in? If it is your right hand you are chest breathing, if it is your left hand you are belly breathing. Simple fix get the left hand to move first!
24. Laughter is the best medicine, have you ever had a bad time laughing?
25. Hands on treatment is one of the best forms of recovery. Go see an RMT, physio or chiro at least once a month for bodily maintenance.
26. The joint by joint approach is a great way to understand the roles of joints in the human body and provides a great self assessment tool. Joints have two roles; being mobile and being stable. Each joint has a primary role. Mobile joints are: toes, ankles, hips, tspine, and shoulders. Stable joints are: arch of foot, knees, lumbar spine, and scapula.
27. The 3 areas of the core you need to control are the hips, shoulders and spine… Learn to do that and you will have a strong core
28. Journaling is one the best ways to induce change in your life. Record your food for a few weeks and you will see a change in your diet. Record your training sessions for a few weeks and you will see a change in your workouts. Do both and you will see a change in your body!
29. I love sports, especially invasive team games. These games include: lacrosse, hockey, rugby, football, soccer and basketball. Understanding the basic decision making skills of invasive team games will allow you to play any invasive team game.
30. I don’t understand why people don’t like the FMS; it is simply a baseline diagnostic for movement skills based on the stages of motor development. It is a standardized test that evaluates squatting, lunging, stepping on one foot, weight shifting, pushups, and shoulder and hip mobility. You don’t need to use the specific corrective exercises developed by Gray Cook and his team to correct any major flaws the screen shows, you can use any methods you like including deleting certain activities to see if the flaws get cleaned up.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23850Adrienne is Wonder Womanhttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2380
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2380#respondFri, 05 Jul 2013 01:01:22 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2380Adrienne is a practical joker. Nothing malicious. Jokes that take people out of their comfort zone, put a smile on their face and make them laugh. After beating cancer twice Adrienne has earned the right to show people the lighter side of life.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when Adrienne walked in for her training session sporting a Wonder Woman costume. She has no shame unless it involves a windsurfing board and a young doctor. Channeling power from her outfit she went on to have one of her best training sessions to date. Check out her kettlebell skills below.

Adrienne had never seen a Kettlebell before training with StayFitAnywhere, in fact she had little experience with strength training in general. When she first sat down with me she said “I’m not here to lose weight or count calories, I’m here to get as strong as possible before getting hip surgery.” During our first few months of training we didn’t even touch a weight, we worked on squatting out of a chair and getting up and down from the floor. With her dedication to the program she avoided hip surgery, another victory!

Not wanting to lose the momentum she had gained Adrienne set a new goal: learn the 6 exercises that make up the foundation of kettlebell lifting (Turkish Getup, front squat, press, swing, clean, and snatch). She started with an 8kg pink bell, conquered it quickly. Then took on the 12kg blue bell, crushed it. On to the 16kg yellow bell, which she is close to defeating. She is not one to rest on her laurels and is currently taking on the challenge of the 20kg purple bell and the 24kg green bell for select exercises. As you can see in the video below she is focused and determined to continue improving her kettlebell skills and increasing her strength.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23800Building Blocks – Movestrong Mobility for Runnershttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2375
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2375#respondTue, 16 Apr 2013 23:06:48 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2375Below are notes from my talk on Movestrong Mobility for Runners that took place on Monday April 15, 2013.

*Factors affecting mobility/flexibility: Previous and current injuries, movement mechanics (misuse, overuse, underuse), lifestyle (daily movements, sitting, sleep patterns, food, fluids)
*According to the joint by joint approach the human body’s joints alternate between mobile and stable – starting with the big toe being mobile.
*Areas most commonly injured are knee, low back, and neck/shoulder. This may be caused by a lack of mobility in the joints above and below these areas: Ankles, Hips, and TSpine/Shoulder Complex.
*Key joints to focus mobility work on to minimize the potential for injury are: ankle, hips, and tspine.
*Before going for a run perform mobility work that will improve running performance 5reps of 3-5secs. See list below.
*Post run mobility work can be done more statically and focus on longer holds between 10-30secs.
*Once mobilty has been gained you must lock it in with stability. Strong Movement Skills are a coordinating combination of Mobility and Stability.
*Soft tissue work (RMT or SMFR) is incredibly beneficial when aiming to improve mobility and performance.

Mobility Action Steps
*Do the RKC Standing Mobility series right before bed or right after waking up in the morning
*Place a mark on the calendar for every run that starts with mobility training, set a goal for two marks per week
*Pick a wall and everytime you walk past it do three wall knee touches and three see the wall squats

Mobility Drills we discussed: These dynamic mobility drills are a great way to prepare for a run or any training session:
*RKC Standing Mobility Series… Video coming soon
*Half Kneel Hip Flexor Stretch… move lead foot around the clock face to find the right spot for you. Lock this in with Half Kneeling Getups

*Half Kneel Worlds Greatest Stretch

*Knee Wall Touch (keep heel down as you push knee in to wall). Lock this in with See the Wall Squat.
*Toe touch progressions (Toes up, Toes Down, Feet Flat)

Stretching/Flexibility/Mobility programs are highly dependant on individual bodies, to build the most effective program for yourself please don’t hesitate to contact me to book an assessment and get started with our highly successful Building Blocks Program.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23750Building Blocks – Movestrong Mobility for Runnershttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2369
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2369#respondThu, 21 Mar 2013 02:21:43 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2369Below are notes from my talk on Movestrong Mobility for Runners that took place on Wednesday March 20, 2013.

*Factors affecting mobility/flexibility: Previous and current injuries, movement mechanics (misuse, overuse, underuse), lifestyle (daily movements, sitting, sleep patterns, food, fluids)
*According to the joint by joint approach the human body’s joints alternate between mobile and stable – starting with the big toe being mobile.
*Areas most commonly injured are knee, low back, and neck/shoulder. This may be caused by a lack of mobility in the joints above and below these areas: Ankles, Hips, and TSpine/Shoulder Complex.
*Key joints to focus mobility work on to minimize the potential for injury are: ankle, hips, and tspine.
*Before going for a run perform mobility work that will improve running performance 5reps of 3-5secs. See list below.
*Post run mobility work can be done more statically and focus on longer holds between 10-30secs.
*Once mobilty has been gained you must lock it in with stability. Strong Movement Skills are a coordinating combination of Mobility and Stability.
*Soft tissue work (RMT or SMFR) is incredibly beneficial when aiming to improve mobility and performance.

Mobility Action Steps
*Do the RKC Standing Mobility series right before bed or right after waking up in the morning
*Place a mark on the calendar for every run that starts with mobility training, set a goal for two marks per week
*Pick a wall and everytime you walk past it do three wall knee touches and three see the wall squats

Mobility Drills we discussed: These dynamic mobility drills are a great way to prepare for a run or any training session:
*RKC Standing Mobility Series… Video coming soon
*Quadruped Series (hands and knees) – Hip rock, Camel/Cat or Spinal Floss. Lock this in with fingers and toes holds or crawling.
*Half Kneel Hip Flexor Stretch… move lead foot around the clock face to find the right spot for you. Lock this in with Half Kneeling Getups
*Knee Wall Touch (keep heel down as you push knee in to wall). Lock this in with See the Wall Squat.
*Toe touch progressions (Toes up, Toes Down, Feet Flat)

Stretching/Flexibility/Mobility programs are highly dependant on individual bodies, to build the most effective program for yourself please don’t hesitate to contact me to book an assessment and get started with our highly successful Building Blocks Program.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23690Mobility for Runners January 28, 2013http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2366
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2366#respondTue, 29 Jan 2013 15:30:38 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2366Below are notes from my talk on Mobility for Runners that took place on Monday January 28, 2013.

*Factors affecting flexibility: Previous and current injuries, movement mechanics, lifestyle (daily movements, sitting, sleep patterns, food, fluids)
*According to the joint by joint approach the human body’s joints alternate between mobile and stable – starting with the big toe being mobile.
*Areas most commonly injured are knee, low back, and neck/shoulder. This may be caused by a lack of mobility in the joints above and below these areas.
*Key joints to focus mobility work on to minimize the potential for injury are: ankle, hips, and tspine.
*Before going for a run perform mobility work that will improve running performance 5reps of 3-5secs. See list below.
*Post run mobility work can be done more statically and focus on longer holds between 10-30secs.
*Once mobilty has been gained you must lock it in with stability.
*Soft tissue work (RMT or SMFR) is incredibly beneficial when aiming to improve mobility and performance.

Mobility Drills we discussed: These dynamic mobility drills are a great way to prepare for a run or any training session
*Seated Hip Series: Windshield Wipers and Stretch Wave

Stretching/Flexibility/Mobility programs are highly dependant on individual bodies, to build the most effective program for yourself please don’t hesitate to contact me to book an assessment and get started with our highly successful Building Blocks Program.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23660Part 2: Getting into the FLOW state and picking your physical activityhttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2363
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2363#respondThu, 24 Jan 2013 00:32:50 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2363About two weeks ago I wrote a post called the Best Piece of Fitness Advice you will read in 2013: Go with the Flow. In short the advice is choose a physical activity that will put you in a flow state and do it. Flow is the word psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyl used to describe his research on enjoyment, happiness and optimal experiences.

The characteristics of flow are:
1. A task we have a chance completing
2. Must be able to concentrate on what we are doing
3. Task has clear goals
4. Task provides immediate feedback
5. Act with deep but effortless involvement that removes the awareness of worries and frustrations of everyday life
6. A sense of control over their actions
7. Concern for the self disappears but the self becomes stronger once the task is complete
8. Sense of time is distorted… Hours go by in a flash or an instant can be frozen in time

What does a flow state feel like? In one word: SEX. In other words it could be your favourite past time like skiing, reading a book, or knitting a scarf. It could even be your work. It is a feeling of never wanting to stop. It is being so focused that nothing can interrupt you. There is an end line in sight and with each deliberate action you make you know whether you are getting closer or farther to your goal. As you are performing there is nothing else in the world you’d rather be doing.

In Csikszentmihalyl’s book flow he quotes a well known west coast rock climber describing flow and his life:
“It’s exhilarating to come closer and closer to self-discipline. You make your body go and everything hurts; then you look back in awe at the self, at what you’ve done, it just blows your mind. It leads to ecstasy, self-fulfillment. If you win these battles enough, that battle against yourself, at least for a moment, it becomes easier to win the battles in the world.”

How do I get into a flow state? It can’t be forced. It happens when you engage yourself fully in an activity with built in feedback and goals. It takes an activity that you enjoy yet challenges you at the same time. An activity that requires your concentration in order to overcome the challenges presented. The challenges don’t have to be huge, just big enough for you to overcome them, like the rock climber mentioned as you continue to conquer enough of these challenges you will eventually find it easier to overcome other challenges presented to you.

If you can get yourself into a flow state through physical activity you will accomplish one of the most important aspects of making physical change, the overload principle. When you find the right physical activity you will continue to push yourself to find new challenges in pursuit of the flow state, it is very addictive. And this constant pursuit will force you to push yourself to new heights and do more than you did the time before, which is exactly what the overload principle is all about. Your body will have no choice but to adapt to the demands.

Choosing a Physical Activity
Below I have created a list with a number of categories of physical activities and within each category there are a number of specific physical activity options. Print out the list or copy and paste it to a fresh word document and do the following. Beside each category and physical activity choice write: Very Interested, Interested, or Not Interested. After you have gone through the list go back to the top and do the same but this time write: Very Experienced, Some Experience, or No Experience. Using this list as your guide you can select a physical activity that interests you and depending on your experience with said activity you can set small or big goals for yourself. If you are feeling particularly eager you can try out 2-3 activities and try them out several times over a month and see which one you like best.

Other
• Gymnastics
• Track and Field
• Equestrian Sports
• Water Sports

Of course there are more options than this but this should get you moving in the right direction. There is one thing all of these physical activities have in common is that they are all easier to perform when your body is moving well and pain free. This is the job of the personal training department at StayFitAnywhere, get people moving as best as possible so they can go and enjoy the activities they love whether it is skiing, horseback riding, or lifting kettlebells. Come train with us and you will find the flow!

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23630Pushups in Pajamas! Pushups in Powder!http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2359
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2359#respondWed, 16 Jan 2013 22:43:57 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2359Last month to keep our clients accountable and motivated we got everyone to create a goal for the month of December and write it down on an ornament and pin in on our goal Christmas Tree inside the SFA studio. We saw lots of great goals being set and nearly everyone accomplished their goals, congratulations for keeping to it during a busy and stressful time of the year.

There was one exercise that stood out on the goal tree and that was PUSHUPS! There were a number of different pushup goals for December, so many that I wrote a blog post about it, Pushups the Word! Perhaps the funniest pushup goal set was between a couple. Lindsay set a goal of doubling the number of pushups Edwina could do, a big challenge. When Edwina saw this she set a goal of being able to do 30 pushups herself, putting the pressure on Lindsay to get 60!

They both put in tremendous effort to reach these marks. During our training sessions we did a number of sets of 3-10 reps of pushups with the goal of working on efficient technique and establishing a strong pushup in order to reach big numbers. On their own they used the Grease the Groove method of sneaking in sets of 5 or 10 pushups throughout the day, a fantastic way to increase your activity in the day and get a ton of reps without beating your body up too much.

Lindsay put in pushup work ANYWHERE he could, perfect example of someone who knows how to StayFitAnywhere.

On New Years Eve Edwina and Lindsay set out to accomplish their goals and lucky for us we got some footage!

Edwina shooting for 30 pushups in her pajamas!

Edwina knocked out her 30 pushups first setting the bar at 60 for Lindsay, in his pajamas also!

Lindsay didn’t quite make 60, but he did tough it out and hit 56, a very impressive feat. Get the most out of the goals you set by sharing them with others, setting a bench mark that is challenging yet attainable and of course is measurable. Next step is set a plan and go to work, and if you make your goal you know your plan worked, if you miss review your plan and make adjustments and get back to work. Congratulations Edwina and Lindsay on a job well done, you have my permission to take a week off of pushups, if you want!
Josh Neumann, BHKjosh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23590The best fitness advice you will read in 2013: Go with the FLOWhttp://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2355
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2355#respondWed, 09 Jan 2013 18:04:39 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2355“Going to the health club you see all these people they are working out, and they are training, and they are getting in shape but the strange thing is nobody is really getting in shape for anything, the only reason that you’re getting in shape is so that you can get through the workout so we are working out so that will be in shape for when we have to do our exercise, this is the whole thing.”
-Jerry Seinfeld

The greatest observational comedian of our time had it figured out in the early 90’s, he knew that just going to the gym for the sake of doing exercises didn’t make a lot of sense. Every January gym’s fill up with people, but after 1-2 months the crowd thins out and it is the regulars plus a few newbies. Why is it so hard for people to stick to a gym routine or any exercise routine for that matter? How many people have gym memberships hidden behind their Blockbuster cards? How many times have you started an exercise program only to stop after 4 weeks or until the next greatest fitness trend emerges?

Over the past 7 years it has been my job to train people to exercise. I’ve had great success training a vast number of clients but I’ve also had my share of failures. Each of my failures encouraged me to ask “why”.

How long is the ideal exercise session? How many times per week? How many sets? How many reps? How much weight? In what order?

What about lifestyle? Nutrition? Sleep? Stress? Work?

Depending on whom I talked to, what courses I took, and what books I read every answer was different. Every program that is marketed to you is the best and fastest way to get the body you want. Want to get strong yoga can do that; want to get flexible kettlebells can do that; want to be the best hockey player Crossfit has got you covered. Don’t get me wrong all these programs are great and I’ve seen great success stories, heck I’ve personally gotten great results but no single exercise program is for everyone. As my friend Cliff Harvey likes to say there are no absolutes in life.

If you are looking for the miracle exercise program that is going to solve all that ails you in 8minutes a day in 30days or less with a money back gaurantee you are going to have to keep looking over and over and over for the rest of your life because you aren’t going to find it.

Now if you are looking to make great changes to the way your body looks, feels and performs all you have to do is follow this piece of advice: find a form of physical activity you truly enjoy and like Nike Just Do It.

This advice is based on:
• What I have dedicated my life to over the past 7 years as a personal trainer
• My post secondary pursuits in Human Kinetics
• My continued pursuit of knowledge in the fields of human performance and lifestyle design
• My lifelong sporting career as both an athlete and a coach
• Spending a majority of my life surrounded by incredibly fit people. Some run, some lift weights, some play sports, some practice yoga, some are outdoorsy, and some just dabble in a bit of everything. Some are trainers, some are friends from university, some are teammates, some are friends of friends, some are clients, and some are family members

In my near 30 years on this planet I have noticed that the people who get the best results for their efforts in anything they do truly enjoy what they do. Sports, arts, relationships, careers, and business whatever it is if you truly enjoy, you will excel. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyl spent much of his career interviewing people around the globe to find out about happiness and optimal experiences. He interviewed athletes, musicians, artists, villagers, urbanites, business professionals, trades people, and farmers and found subjects would describe happiness, enjoyment and optimal experiences with the word Flow, or a number of other terms to describe this incredible feeling of enjoyment like: in the zone or on fire.

Csikzszentmihalyl delivered his research to the world in 1990 in his book Flow, and it has been referenced in a number of different books on a variety of topics. Flow can be defined as the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In point form these are the 8 characteristics to describe flow:
• A task we have a chance completing
• Must be able to concentrate on what we are doing
• Task has clear goals
• Task provides immediate feedback
• Act with deep but effortless involvement that removes the awareness of worries and frustrations of everyday life
• A sense of control over their actions
• Concern for the self disappears but the self becomes stronger once the task is complete
• Sense of time is distorted… Hours go by in a flash or an instant can be frozen in time

Does this sound like your typical workout or exercise session? No. Then this is probably why you aren’t reaching your goals. You haven’t found the type of exercise program that puts you in a state of flow. It is nearly impossible to reap the rewards of daily physical activity when you dread doing the task at hand. In the documentary Pumping Iron there is a scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger compares the feeling he gets when lifting weights to having orgasms. Sex is no doubt a flow activity, it fulfills all the criteria, especially great sex – use your imagination and memories. The best exercise program for you is going to be the one where like Arnie it entices the same flow feeling you get from sex.

Flow is a feeling I most often experience when I am in motion whether it is playing lacrosse or swinging a kettlebell. It is a feeling like nothing can go wrong and I am on top of the world. It doesn’t happen every workout or game; it takes repetition and progressive challenges, two of the essential elements to getting results in any exercise program. This is why you need to find an exercise program you truly enjoy so you can do it often and find new challenges which will put you into a flow state and when you get there you will know it, and it is that feeling that brings you back for more.

Coming soon Part 2 of The Best Advice You Will Read in 2013: Picking your exercise program and getting into the Flow state.

]]>http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?feed=rss2&p=23550Pushups the word!http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2343
http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2343#respondWed, 12 Dec 2012 01:23:16 +0000http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=2343Our December goal tree is filled with great goals but one word is dominating the tree and it is PUSHUPS! It is no surprise as pushups are one of the best bodyweight exercises because they can be done anywhere and there are so many variations, not to mention the boost in strength your core and upper body will get from doing them.

M.T. set a great mastery goal of achieving 15 correct pushups by the end of the month. This is a fantastic goal as it covers both quality and quantity, they need to be performed a certain way and for 15 reps. M.I. will be spending much of the month working on pushup skills.

Improve your pushup skills by working from the ground up, check out the ground pushup!

Cliff has been featured on our blog before, Cliff’s Journey, he likes to bike and golf however it isn’t as much fun in the dark and rain so he set himself an indoor goal to keep him active daily. Cliff is going to do 15 pushups a day everyday for the month of December, which is a total of 465 pushups in a month!

Grant has set his sights on a goal that will require efficiency and speed. He is going to do 60 pushups in 60 seconds. Not only does he have to do a whole bunch of pushups but he has to do them fast, a challenge no doubt, good thing he has all month to work on this goal!

Our final pushup goal for December comes from a couple and is pretty funny and not competitive at all. Lindsay came in at the beginning of the month and said I’d like to double the number of pushups Eddi can do by the end of the month. A goal with a sliding scale. When Eddi saw this she immediately stepped up to the challenge and announced that she wanted to do 30 pushups by month’s end. Like I said not competitive at all, of course neither one has backed down. The question of the day around their household is “how many have you done today?”

We have a couple other special things going on for the holiday studio at the SFA studio, check them out below.

Toys for Tots – We are collecting toys for kids aged 3-16 until December 14th. All toys will be given to the Gordon House to be distributed throughout the West End of Vancouver.